St Joseph debaters (front) with other participants and guests-of-honour after the prize presentation.
KUCHING: St Joseph Private School Kuching debate team emerged champion in the 12th Swinburne Sarawak Inter School Debate Championship at Swinburne University here yesterday.
The team of Ian Dylan, Joshua Paren and Samuel Chan defeated Chong Hwa Independent High School, Kuala Lumpur in debating the motion: ‘The federal government should not impose stake and local taxes on online retailers’.
Joshua was Best Debater in the finals.
In the junior category, the team from SMK Sri Permata Selangor of Benjamin Tan jer Chien, Izanna Azuddin and Thrishandra Wemel Naidu were champion, defeating Kolej Yayasan Saad, Melaka.
SMK Sri Permata debater Izanna Azuddin was Best Debater in the finals debating the motion ‘States should allow its citizens to invest their money in offshore bank account’.
Debaters from teams that reached the semi-finals and upwards will be eligible to enrol with Swinburne Foundation Studies in the next three years and eligible for scholarships from RM3,000 to RM4,500.
Swinburne Sarawak sponsored 16 experienced adjudicators from Peninsular Malaysia and overseas to provide fair and constructive feedback to the debaters.
A total of 33 schools, including two from Indonesia, participated in the competition held since Feb 13, making it the largest group to compete in the championship’s 12 year history.
It was organised by the Swinburne Sarawak Debater’s Club and funded by the Faculty of Language and Communication and additional sponsorship from Swinburne Sarawak Student Council.
Present at the finals yesterday were Noraine Jamil, assistant director of Language Unit representing State Education Department director Rakayah Madon, Swinburne deputy vice-chancellor Professor Janet Gregory and academic director Professor Enn Ong.